Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is the key enzyme of the Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) which maintains the blood pressure homeostasis in our body. The association of the ACE insertion (I) or deletion (D) with essential hypertension has been demonstrated by many studies. The present study is aimed to determine the association, if any, of ACE I/D polymorphism with essential hypertension in Punjabi population. The ACE I/D polymorphism genotype frequencies were calculated by comparing essential hypertensive patients with ethnically similar normotensive controls. The samples were collected from the outpatient departments of various hospitals of Punjab. The subjects who had systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 140 mmHg or greater, and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 90 mmHg or greater, or were using any antihypertensive medication were considered as hypertensive. The DNA samples from the patients (100) and controls (100) were isolated, amplified by PCR and analyzed on agarose gel. When all the genotypes were compared in patients and controls, the chi square value was 0.444, which was not significant at 5% level. The age, height and weight were analyzed in the three different categories DD, ID, II which did not show any significant relationship with the disease. A consistent increase was seen in the SBP and DBP in all the three genotypes from DD, ID to II respectively. This increase was statistically significant for DBP especially in case of DD vs II at 5% level (t=2.34, p<0.05).

Mutations in different regions of adiponectin gene have been reported to be associated with obesity, atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The present study was aimed to investigate the association among SNP 45 T [ G of adiponectin gene and type 2 diabetes in South Indian population. 75 clinically diagnosed case of type 2 diabetes were studied and compared with 75 apparently healthy controls. The genotype frequency of SNP45 T [ G in exon 2 of adiponectin gene was determined by PCR based restriction enzyme analysis using the restriction enzyme SmaI. (recognition site: CCC;GGG). Three kind of genotypes: wild type TT (470 bp), heterozygous type TG (470 bp, 336 bp, 134 bp) and homozygote mutant type GG (336 bp, 134 bp) were studied. A positive association has been found between SNP45 T [ G and type 2 diabetes in the study population (P = 0.010, OR = 3.797, 95% CI = 1.312-10.983). Therefore, SNP45T [ G in adiponectin gene may be one of the risk factors for type 2 diabetes.

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Obesity, broadly refers to increased body fat, which has become an important public health problem. Its prevalence continues to increase worldwide. In the World Health Survey, the prevalence of physical inactivity in India was 9.3% in men and 15.2% in women. Adipose tissue being an endocrine organ secretes several cytokines such as Interleukin-6, TNF-α and adipokines such as adiponectin, hepcidin, resistin. This study is to compare ferritin to iron and hepcidin with normal and obese men. This case-control study was conducted at a multispecialty centre in Chennai, Tamil Nadu between 2013 and 2015, including 80 subjects of South Indian population. The biochemical parameters which were measured included the levels of hepcidin, ferritin, iron, Total Iron Binding Capacity and Hemoglobin. The results were statistically analyzed. Mann whitney U test performed to check for the statistical significance for differences in mean between the groups. The mean hepcidin values for the control group was 800.55 ± 503.50 and the study group was 1106.68 ± 826.25 and was found to be statistically significant with a p-value of 0.03. There was positive correlation of hepcidin with ferritin and Transferrin Saturation. Hepcidin is recognized as the key regulator of systemic iron homeostasis. The measurement of hepcidin in biological fluids is therefore a promising tool in the diagnosis and management of medical conditions in which iron metabolism is affected.

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